Team News

No. 21 Liberty Finishes Busy Week at Linger Longer Invitational

No. 21 Liberty will close out its busiest week of the 2018-19 season when the Flames participate in the 2019 Linger Longer Invitational, this weekend.

The event is co-hosted by Kennesaw State and Mercer at The Landing at Reynolds Lake Oconee (par 72, 6,991 yards) in Greensboro, Ga.. The tournament is a three-day event, scheduled to begin on Friday morning at 8:30 a.m.

This is the Flames' second tournament during Liberty's annual Spring Break week. The squad finished in third place on Tuesday at the General Hackler Championship in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Tournament Reflections – Liberty's Last Showing at the General Hackler Championship: • Liberty has participated in the Linger Longer Invitational four previous times, with the last time being in 2015. • Liberty's best finish at the Linger Longer Invitational was in 2014 when the Flames finished tied for fifth place as they fired a 10-over par 874 (281-291-302). • The best individual finish by a Liberty golfer was by Chase Marinell, who finished the 2014 tournament tied for fifth place with a 4-under par 212 (68-72-72). • During their last showing at this event, the Flames finished in eighth place when they fired a 1-over par 865 (284-290-291) during a year when the event was held at the Great Waters Golf Club in Greensboro, Ga.

From the 18th Green – Recapping Liberty's Last Time Out: • Liberty began the week by finishing third place at the General Hackler Championship, a two-day, 54-hole event hosted by Coastal Carolina at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club in Myrtle Beach, S.C. • Liberty carded a 15-under par 849 (282-276-291), the team's lowest 54-hole total of the 2018-19 season. • The Flames had three of their starting five golfers finish the event in the top 10 of the 78-man field. • Ervin Chang led the Flames, finishing tied for third place with a 9-under par 207 (70-69-68). • The junior's lowest 54-hole total of the season allowed him to share ASUN Golfer of the Week honors with North Florida's Travis Trace, who also finished in third place at the same event. • Following Chang, Gabe Lench finished tied for seventh place with a 5-under par 211 (71-66-74) and Kieran Vincent finished tied for 10th place with a 4-under par 212 (70-70-72).

Birdies and Bogeys – Liberty Team Notes: • Liberty is ranked No. 21 in the latest Golfstat national ranking, matching the highest ranking in program history (also ranked No. 21 following the conclusion of the 2011-12 season). • The Flames have two individual golfers who currently rank inside the top-75 in the country: Ervin Chang (No. 52) and Gabe Lench (No. 60). • The Flames ended the fall with a 289.83 team stroke average, which ranks ahead of the second-best fall average in program history (290.75 in 2010/school record is a 283.07 set in 2016). • After winning five of the last eight Big South titles (2011, 2012, 2014, 216 and 2018), the Flames will be looking for a different avenue to the NCAA Regionals during their first season of competition in the ASUN Conference. • During the offseason, 17 of Liberty's 20 NCAA Division I athletics programs moved their conference affiliation from the Big South Conference to the ASUN Conference. Liberty was a member of the Big South Conference for 27 years, starting its membership during the 1991-92 athletic year.

Scouting the Field (15 teams): • The 15-team field including five top-25 ranked teams and 12 teams currently ranked inside the top 100 in the latest Golfstat national rankings. • No. 21 Liberty is one of the five team in the field currently ranked in the Golfstat top-25 rankings: Georgia (No. 15), Liberty (No. 21), Tennessee (No. 22), Alabama (No. 24) and Louisville (No. 25). • For the fourth-straight tournament this spring, Liberty will face off against an ASUN member school, as Kennesaw State is co-hosting this event with Mercer.